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Zagreb terminal to be completed in December

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Zagreb Airport anticipates arrival of new airlines with terminal opening

The construction of Zagreb Airport's new multi million euro terminal will be completed in December this year, with the opening set to take place in the first quarter of 2017, during the spring. Progress is being made on the new facility with work on all escalators and elevators to be finalised by the end of this month, while the construction and installation of the new baggage handling system will be completed by the end of March. Check-in desks and counters will be installed a month later. Furthermore, by the end of June, the terminal will have a new security and CCTV system put into place. The commissioning phase, where all the equipment systems needed to operate the entire building are put through a series of rigorous testing procedures before it can be occupied, will take place in January.

The Managing Director of Zagreb Airport, Jacques Feron, said yesterday, "We are currently in talks with a number of airlines to introduce new routes, which is one of the ways we are preparing to transition into a new phase of our business operations, which will begin with the opening of the new terminal". He added, "Terminal construction is progressing at an excellent pace and is in line with our plans to complete work on the building by the end of the year, after which we will commence the testing phase and prepare for the grand opening in the spring of next year".

Touring the construction site, the Croatian Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said, "What we saw was really impressive, I am satisfied. This is definitely one of the biggest infrastructure projects being undertaken in Croatia. It pleases me that the new terminal, with its capacity and features, will meet the needs of the travelling public, as well as foreign and local carriers”. The new terminal, valued at 313 million euros, stretches over 65.000 square metres and is spaced out into four levels. The first two will be used for arrivals, while the other two for departures. It will have the capacity to handle five million passengers per year, which will increase to eight million in subsequent phases when the need to expand the building arises. The new terminal will also feature thirty check-in desks and three baggage reclaim carousels. In addition, the building will boast eight jet bridges.

You can review the latest developments by clicking on the pictures below.

Comments

Basically the entire terminal is made of glass yet the airbridges aren't... glass ones are so much nicer and more pleasant. ZAG will have similar ones as LCA and it feel like you are walking through an underground bunker!

Jet bridges, while a very important terminal experience, is the shortest segment of the flying process (from my personal experience, it's rarely longer than a minute). If I would have to cut costs somewhere, that's where I would do it. Not sure what the cost difference would be, and I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of passengers don't notice if they board through a glass or non-glass jet bridge.

I agree with Visit Kosovo and I think the reason they opted for this type of jet bridges was because of costs. Remember that the project's budget was cut and the building was downsized. I do agree that the glass ones would look better here because it would fit really nicely with the exterior but overall it's not that important.

Even though the time spent in an airbridge is rather short, there are times when it really matters- as is usually the case when flying on lowcost carriers.

Take Wizz Air and BEG. They usually board from one of the creepy-looking, horror film style A7-A9 gates. Before they allow passengers to enter the aircraft, they tend to cram everyone in that narrow space and a few times we waited for 10 to 15 minutes. Same thing in Larnaca where you are waiting in the airbridge until the aircraft is ready to board. That said, in Larnaca it is actually pretty cool as you get to stand on the stairs outside, by the sea with cypresses all around.

It also happens when flying on legacy carriers, that is when the scanning of boarding cards goes faster than the passengers boarding the aircraft. This is especially apparent in airports where the distance from the terminal building to the aircraft is short (as is in BEG).

Plus, I am sure most passengers like to take pictures from the airbridge and it generally creates a more pleasant, overall, impression of the airport. If the price difference was that great then I am sure most airports would have gone with the non-glass option.

Just my 2 cents.

p.s. maybe ZAG is planning on allowing companies to advertise on airbridges where this model would make more sense.

You rarely see these 180 degree turn jet bridges - don't they seem a bit low? Are they planning on using them with Q400s as well?

And as for non-transparent material... it's a crying shame. The terminal looks great, yet it's not just the comfort of pax inside the jetbridge, it's also the obstructed view from the terminal building itself, which is all glass. Temperature is a non-issue with air conditioning, actually they have it installed already.

Now, if jetways were connected to the terminal at lower level (and departing pax access it via escalator, and only then enter the jet bridge) - sure, you can go for this style. But a tin box right in front of such a building... Well, at least that's the cheapest thing to change down the road when the time comes.

Glass bridges are the last thing to worry about, terminal is about, almost all new terminals have simmilar bridges to Zagreb, as to why you see bridges so low, they just installed them, phase of testing need to be completed before they become fully operational.

Vienna Airport new section has similar solution as does JFK's newest terminal. Glass bridges can be added at any later stage should airport wish it, it is not a priority or an issue I'd worry about. New terminal needs to be tested and all facilities must be put in to operational function.

Well, actually, no. VIE has glass jetways, only the very final section, which is far from the building, is metal (see https://www.austrianwings.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Besucherterrasse-Flughafen-Wien-Besucherdeck-Skylink-Chec-In-3-AUA-Austrian-Airlines-Nachtaufnahme-Thomas-Ranner.jpg)

And actually they did the very thing I was talking about - jetways start at the lowest level (which is Schengen departures and arrivals), while two upper floors (non Schengen arrivals on Lvl 2, and departures on Lvl 3) get completely unobfustaced views of the apron.

Of course it is not an issue to be worried about, airport will work fine without them, but I really hate to see a fantastic project spoiled like this for a savings of what must be petty change in comparison to total costs of the terminal.

I could not find much but I managed to find this published on exyuaviation actually

"Meanwhile, Aelia Duty Free has confirmed it will open a large 600 square metre store inside the new facility in two years. “It is the next step in leveraging our partnership with Aéroports de Paris, which is also part of the airport consortium. It makes sense for us and for them, and it underlines the strength of that partnership”, Aelia CEO, Ambroise Fondeur, says."

ADPI has their own company for shops and services with brands that are well known in airports around World and specialized companies for retail business and marketing advertising. So I don't have any doubts there would be lot of well known shops, restaurants and bars in new terminal. For sure one of first would be Relay, which is most common ADPI brand.

Aéroports de Paris, the Paris airport authority, and JCDecaux announce the creation of a new joint venture on a 50/50 basis named Média Aéroports de Paris. This new company, which received the official go-ahead from the European Commission on May 16 earlier this year, will begin operations on July 1, 2011 for a period of nine and a half years selling advertising space in the Parisian airports under the brand: JCDecaux Airport Paris.

So, yes, it will be logical to have that join venture company to do advertising.

My prediction for the arrival of new airlines in 2017. and 2018. are as follows and in the following order... :)- Alitalia- SAS- Aegan- Tarom- Finnair- Korean Air, scheduled 2 x weekly

I also hope/predict that OU, BA, Lufthansa, Iberia, KLM, Norwegian, Germanwings/Eurowings, Turkish, Qatar will be adding new destinations/increasing the size of the aircraft on the existing routes and/or frequencies.

OU should also see a reasonable increase in the # of flights and perhaps in 1 or 2 new destinations...

Let's be realistic with the new terminal - as nice as it looks, it's only likely to benefit Croatia Airlines which will now be able to offer a competitive (operationally) transfer product via ZAG which has hitherto been difficult with the heavily outdated existing terminal building. For new entrants, there are only 2 things that are going to affect their decision on whether to operate to Zagreb - the revenue dynamics (yield) for the market which is function of economic indicators, and their cost base of operating. This terminal will do nothing on the economics but if it is more expensive then the current terminal, then Zagreb actually becomes even less appealing then it already is. It will take the airport management to think outside the box here, unless their remit is to 'protect' Croatia Airlines...

It is about capacity not just comfort. Old terminal is so overcapacity especially in peek time (7:15-9:00; 12:30-14:00, 16:45-18:00, 20:15-21:15) that there is no room for serious development. For example, you can not bring LCC and than make them limitations not to fly in peek time. How can they make their high-use of planes with those limitations? Also it is not serious that you kill yourself to bring some legacy carrier which have their own wave to follow and than tell them "but we can not secure your desire timing". It is better not to start negotiate with them if you can not give them at least timing what is good for them. Because of that there would be much more space for development and much better conditions to offer to carriers than today, and for sure that will have influence in future number of passengers and carriers.

With all due respect, LCCs deal with scheduling constraints and limitations all the time so you most certainly can negotiate with them if there are peak times. How do you think they manage at airports like LGW, FCO, ORY and others. They adapt, plain and simple.

^Listen, 'peak time' as you're profiling it seems to suggest it's London Heathrow and there are *NO* departure or arrival slots of gates/stands. That is not the case at ZAG now, it just requires a bit of fine tuning and tinkering from the respective LCCs scheduling department. LCCs are not like some spoilt child that has to get everything their own way.

Peak time is huge problem in Zagreb. Companies are motivated not to use them by price list (that is why most of charters start after 9 o'clock), and in top season you have slots in Zagreb in same cases. I heard that this year all summer would be slots for peek time. You should come to Zagreb at peak time and to see how international departures and check in zones look like in peak time. It is disaster!!!

The only reason why they don't have LCC in Zagreb is price policy and that one don't motivate LCC. That price policy is on because Zagreb old terminal can not afford any more traffic in peak time. Zagreb is not LHR, but have a huge problem.

If you are LCC and you start flights like

6:00 - 11:0011:30 - 16:3017:00 - 22:00you are in peak 16:30-17:00

if you tray to do it7:00 - 12:0012:30 - 17:3018:00 - 23:00

you are in peak at 12:30 and 17:30-18:00

You can not avoid peak time if you want to base a plane in Zagreb.

Also ZAG is not in position to attract any legacy carrier by give them restriction. They hardly can persuade carrier to come, and for sure when you negotiate you should not start with "but you can not come to Zagreb between 7:15 and 9:00, 12:30 and 14:30, 16:45 and 18:00, 20:15 and 21:15".

You obviously have not been party to any discussions between airlines and airports because these 'discussions' would certainly not start on the basis of basing an aircraft. ZAG would do well to get a new route of any kind from an established LCC who will operate them from their existing bases.

Unfortunately because of Eurocontrol by the influence of big players there is no plane that can be profitable in this moment to have less than 65 passengers on board. Cvijin told me that when he has his own plane (totally payed) with 19 seats (Turbolet) with 100% LF on OSI-PUY and OSI-ZAD, and with high prices he was not profitable.

Only way how one can be profitable with that plane is PSO. That is why you have routes with those kind of planes in North Scotland and some other PSO rutes but not in rest of Europe.

The term P2P refers to an itinarary that is flown direct by the passenger, that is the ORIGIN and DESTINATION (O&D) are reached without changing the plane en route. Therefore the O&D can also be a P2P (ZAG-AMS). Many people use the term OD (origin-destination) however to refer to an itinarary that includes a change at some hub to reach another destination (ZAG-FRA-AMS). This is however not quite true.

@ Anon February 24, 2016 at 8:40 PMIt's pritty much the same. P2P are only people using direct flights. O&D are people travelling to a certain destination no matter direct or with attachment. Example: you're from Belgrade but live in Paris. So, you're considered O&D for Belgrade-Paris route no matter how you're travelling this route. If you travel BEG-FCO-CDG this O&D, but isn't considered P2P. P2P is considered only if you travel BEG-CDG.

Actually, Zagreb would happen because of O&D, that is because there are quite a few Croats living in Iran.

Belgrade on the other hand would happen because of economic links as numerous Iranian companies will be using Serbia as an entry point for the EU. Actually, during a recent Serbian-Iranian economic forum, the Iranian side complained about Croatia and mentioned that many companies are actually leaving. They said it's becoming increasingly difficult to do business from there because of the EU.

So in the end, ZAG might have more passengers but BEG would have higher yields and we all know what airlines prefer.

OT - It is possible to book Air France AF6291 Premium Economy seat on Air Serbia operated flight between Paris and Belgrade, booking code W. Does that mean business or economy class seat on actual Air Serbia plane?

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